Layout
The Home and Design of the RGW
Layout Construction
We are entering our 16th year of construction on the RGW. Our team is currently made up of 6 individuals with a long history of working on local layouts, including the Washington State History Museum PSMRE layout. We are fortunate to set aside one evening a week to work on the layout. Progress can be slow at times, but it is steady. We now have over 1800 linear feet of working mainline and a total of 3200 lineal feet of working track. For weekly updates on the projects and progress we are making on the RGW, I encourage you to go to our CONSTRUCTION UPDATE thread on TRAINBOARD. You can click on this link to go directly to the thread. You can then click on the first post or the most recent, to get caught up on all of the happenings. For historical updates, please feel free to check any of the links below. As always, we thank you for checking in.
Layout Construction
We are entering our 16th year of construction on the RGW. Our team is currently made up of 6 individuals with a long history of working on local layouts, including the Washington State History Museum PSMRE layout. [Ed note: please include a link to PSMRE.org on the acronym PSMRE] We are fortunate to set aside one evening a week to work on the layout. Progress can be slow at times, but it is steady. We now have over 1800 linear feet of working mainline and a total of 3200 lineal feet of working track. For weekly updates on the projects and progress we are making on the RGW, I encourage you to go to our CONSTRUCTION UPDATE thread on TRAINBOARD. You can click on this link to go directly to the thread. You can then click on the first post or the most recent, to get caught up on all of the happenings. For historical updates, please feel free to check any of the links below. As always, we thank you for checking in.
One of the best parts of the model railroading hobby is the fellowship you can have with other modelers. In our case, we meet every Tuesday evening to make progress on the layout, run trains and just shoot the breeze.
The picture shown here is from a typical work party. It has always exemplified the hobby to me. If you’ve ever worked as a group on a layout or ever participated in an operating session; why does it always seem that everyone in attendance ends up in the same spot at some point? If there is one universal constant in the hobby, it’s that we all eventually gravitate to the narrowest point of the layout. It certainly makes for good fellowship!
Below are some of the historical construction updates from our original website. I hope you’ll scroll through and check them out. Thank you for being a part of the Rainier Great Western.
In order to “hide” tracks running at a lower level and near the West wall, we used 2-inch blue foam to sculpt the hill side along the entire stretch of tracks. We made three distinct sections then used plaster patches to straddle the seams of each lift-out section. We then scenicked them with ground foam and lichen to simulate scotch broom.
Scenery in the Franklin area starts to take shape. This is a rustic industrial area and is not intended to be serene or pretty. Our “two bridge” scene has the bridges installed and the landforms are starting to take shape. Also added a farm in the NW corner on the run into Franklin.
In order to “hide” tracks running at a lower level and near the West wall, we used 2-inch blue foam to sculpt the hill side along the entire stretch of tracks. We made three distinct sections then used plaster patches to straddle the seams of each lift-out section. We then scenicked them with ground foam and lichen to simulate scotch broom.
Scenery in the Franklin area starts to take shape. This is a rustic industrial area and is not intended to be serene or pretty. Our “two bridge” scene has the bridges installed and the landforms are starting to take shape. Also added a farm in the NW corner on the run into Franklin.